. here in a petaluma sports bar, pink ribbons and childhood photos of a young woman who died in south lake tahoe this week. how the community is coming together in her honor. flu season is here earlier than usual. we'll tell you why health officials say this season is off to a bad start. >> plus, wet weather returns to the bay area. we're on storm watch tonight, with how long this rain is expected to last.

. good evening. >> family and friends in petaluma are rallying around the family of a 19-year-old woman who died in frigid conditions at lake tahoe new year's eve. john sasaki is at a pet lumina sports bar, where a fund-raiser is under way to help other families of missing children. john? >> reporter: ken, here at the sports bar, the evening rush is on. and many people coming in are here to honor alyssa burns. it was a day of football at petaluma's beyond the glory sports bar. but guests walking in were greeted by the smiling face of 19-year-old alyssa burn. the petaluma native died in south lake tahoe this week, after leaving a new year's eve music festival. today, the restaurant is doing a fund-raiser in her honor. >> we came here specifically for

the fund-raiser. >> reporter: burn's father and brother were here for part of the day. >> alyssa touched the hearts of so many people. she was -- one of the most energetic people i've ever known in my entire life. >> reporter: pet lumina is a tight-knit community where everyone seems to know everyone. in fact, i asked three diner if his they knew burn and two of them were her friends. >> she would always come into our classrooms, no matter whether she was part of the class, and she was always laughing. that was the greatest thing, always laughing, having a good time. >> she was the funniest person i think i've ever met. and she would always try to make you laugh when anyone was upset. >> reporter: on the wall now are photos of burn on her little league baseball team. >> she was a ball of energy, a ball of life, and, you know, she will be missed by us every day. >> reporter: she aspired to be a firefighter/paramedic. today, members of calfire dropped by with a gift. >> wanted to give her a momento, a patch like ours, to kind of

say welcome to the firefighter family. >> reporter: the funds raised here today will go to the national center for missing and exploited children. plans for a funeral are still pending. live in pet lumina, john sasaki, ktvu channel 2news. the wet weather has returned to the bay area and late this afternoon in downtown oakland, this is what it looked like. mark tamayo is here with a look at where the rain is falling at this moment. mark? >> jana, the first rain of 2013, and the rainfall has been picking up over the past couple of hours across parts of the bay area. live storm tracker 2 shows you the current pattern. there's a live doppler sweep showing you the rainfall out there. up towards santa rosa, parts of the north bay, steady to moderate to heavy rain, especially with darker shades of green towards santa rosa and moving into parts of napa county as well, around glenn ellen, sonoma.

closer to san francisco and oakland, the rainfall rates have been picking up here, especially across the bay bridge. challenge driving across the bay bridge right now. toward the inlet east bay, concord, danville, danville area, rainfall has been picking up out toward oakland and lafayette. and the south bay, san jose reporting light rain, santa cruz mountains around highway 17. rainfall will continue to pick up heading into the evening hours. coming up, how much you can expect in your neighborhood and the changes that are developing for your sunday. >> thanks, mark. those affected by gun violence in oakland held a peace rally today. >> what do we want? >> peace! >> when do we want it? >> now! >> the group save oakland organized a demonstration at high street and brooke dale avenue, adjacent to brooke dale park. that is where 15-year-old raquel girlsle and another teenager were gunned down in november.

raquel's father is working to stop violence. >> she was out here trying to get her friends off the streets. i really miss her. i don't want her death to be? vain. >> in december, police arrested three suspects, including a juvenile. the adult, 18-year-old deante powell and tony edwards are charged with murder. sacramento police have made two more arrests in a deadly shooting in old sacramento on new year's eve. 34-year-old charles fowler scholz and amber scholz face charges with a deadly weapon. police believe amber started a fight between her husband and another man, carlito montoya. he is accused of shooting and killing a club bouncer and another restaurant employee. he is in jail. three other people were hurt. authorities say four men from the bay area have been arrested as part of a nationwide federal crackdown on child sexual exploitation. the five-week operation

sunflower resulted in the identification of 245 suspects nationwide. in the bay area, the department of homeland security says men were arrested in reasoner park, pleasant hill and san jose. three were arrested on distribution of child pornography. a girl is in critical condition after being hit by a car in san francisco near chinatown. the girl was struck by a white subaru around 8:00 last night while walking with her family on pine street near stockton. she was taken to san francisco general hospital with life-threatening injuries. there is still no word if the driver of the subaru was detained. police say the girl was visiting the city with her family. tonight, san francisco police are asking for the public's help in searching for a 92-year-old man who went missing on new year's day. walter wakumski is white, 5' 5, weighing 140 pounds. he has green eyes and gray hair. police say he likes to visit

racetracks and gambling establishments. the search continues tonight for italian fashion designer victor yarr musoni, who was on a plane that disappeared. he was traveling with his wife, two friends and crewmembers when the small plane they were in disappeared yesterday off the venezuelan coast. missoni is a top executive with a fashion house founded by his father. authorities in santa cruz are working to identify a body found this morning near the mouth of the san lorenzo river. the coroner's office says the body appears to be that of a white male in his fifties. there were no signs of foul play. santa rosa police are trying to figure out how a man wound up on the side of a road last night unconscious with severe injuries to his head. police found the man in his forties on peterson lane around 9:00 last night. he was taken to the hospital with life-threatening wounds to his head. investigators say it appears the man was walking to the store when he was wounded. police say a white car with two

men inside was seen in the area at the time. right now, police have no suspects. san francisco police say they are hoping a tip from the public will help solve a 6-year-old cold case. 20-year-old alberto casilla was shot and killed in 2007 near a market club. he was confronted by two suspects at club caliente. the city offered a $250,000 reward last year, providing these sketches resembling the gunman. the flu season is in full swing in the bay area. kaiser permanente and california health officials say the number of known cases in california has doubled in the past week. allie rasmus is live in alameda now to explain why experts say the worst is yet to come. allie? >> reporter: well, jana, it's the time of year a lot of people flock to their local pharmacies for cold and flu remedies, but the doctors we talked to today say one of the ways to protect yourself, use a lot of hand

sanitizer, but they pointed out, not just any hand sanitizer. read the ingredient label, they say, and make sure it has at least 60% alcohol content. you may need to stock up on this stuff in the coming weeks. >> all done? >> reporter: tom george hopes a quick injection will help him avoid days of discomfort. >> i came in to get a flu shot. my wife's a first grade teacher and gets exposed to a lot of things in the classroom and so forth, just in case she gets the flu and brings it home. i don't want to get it. >> the flu is officially here in the bay area. >> reporter: infectious disease specialists say everyone who comes into a kaiser clinic with flu-like tested gets tested for the flu. the data shows a clear spike in the number of cases. in just the past week, the number of people who tested positive for the flu doubled, from 6% to 12%. and of all the kids and teens tested, a third of them had the flu. >> that tells us that influenza is here in a significant proportion. >> reporter: flu season is expected to ramp up, as kids head back to school. >> we know that influenza is

common in kids and they are together and exchanging germs all the time. >> reporter: but there is good news for people who have already gotten this year's flu shot. you are protected from the most common flu strain going around this season. even so-- >> good hygiene and hand washing and covering cough and staying home is really important. >> reporter: now, flu season can last into march or april, so health experts say there is still time to get a flu vaccine this year. as you can see from the sign here, a lot of pharmacies, health clinics, hospitals are still offering the flu shot. live in alameda, allie rasmus, ktvu channel 2news. in san francisco today, residents in visitacion valley offered their thoughts about a proposal to demolish the sunny dale and have i lasse company public housing complexes to make way for a completely different kind of development. there are currently over 400

buildings on the site. the existing buildings are to be replaced with 1700 units. >> the idea is to develop it into a mixed income community that would include affordable and market rate housing, as well as all new community amenities like new park space and new community center. >> according to san francisco housing authority policy, those who currently live in the housing projects and are in good standing would have a right to return to whatever new development is built. the oakland fire department says a new federal grant will help prevent rotating station closures. the $7.8 million grant provides funding to hire new and laid off oakland firefighters and put two additional fully staffed engines into service every day. this is the second federal grant the department has received in the last year. if you want to park in front of a parking meter tomorrow in san francisco, you will have to pay, even though it will be sunday. meters in the city will now be enforced on sundays from noon until 6:00 p.m. parking on sundays has

traditionally been free, ever since parking meters were first installed in the city back in the 1940s. back then, most businesses were closed on sundays, so there was really no need for enforcement. the city says the new policy keeps up with the times and the need to turn over parking spaces. a marin county activist is preparing to fight his car-pool violation by arguing that corporations are people. on monday, jonathan freeman is set to contest a traffic ticket that he received in october while deliberately driving by himself in a car-pool lane. freeman argues that he was not alone. >> there's a pile of cars on the freeway and the car-pool lane is open and i have two persons in the car, me and a corporation. >> freeman says his position is that california's vehicle code definition of a person includes corporations. so, he says, the pile of papers in his passenger seat which belong to a corporation he cofounded represents a real passenger. if he loses, he says he plans to take the appeal all the way to

the state supreme court. . a police stand-off ends with four people dead in a colorado city all too familiar with gun violence. >> a giant aircraft is almost ready to take off. what it's being used for and how the u.s. military is involved. >> hundreds of unused christmas trees chained together to go into this fremont lake. the purpose behind this unique project.

. four people are dead in aurora, colorado following a police stand-off. a s.w.a.t. team stormed a home this morning, after police say a gunman fired shots at officers. inside the home, officers found the bodies of the gunman, two men and a woman. the gunman had been shot by police. a fifth person escaped from the home. aurora is the same denver suburb where 12 people were killed

inside a movie theater last july. today, president obama's weekly address focused on his next challenge with congress. the debt ceiling. >> one thing i will not compromise over is whether or not congress should pay the tab for a bill they have already racked up. if congress refuses to give the united states the ability to pay its bills on time, the consequences for the entire global economy could be catastrophic. last time congress threatened this course of action, our entire economy suffered for it. >> republicans say a deal must include spending cuts, but the party isn't unified on that strategy. yesterday, former presidential candidate newt gingrich called a potential showdown over the debt ceiling a, quote, dead loser for the gop. a new kind of air ship built in southern california is almost ready to fly for the u.s. military. construction of the aero craft at a tuscan facility is complete. the company's worldwide aeros just released this video of the giant blimp-like craft in meetings. it combines airplane and air ship technologies and the

military hopes to use it to deliver cargo around the world. for most people, disposing of an old christmas tree means putting it out on the sidewalk on garbage day. environmentalists and fishermen were cheering volunteers who put hundreds of trees into a fremont lake today. >> reporter: dragging old christmas trees down to the shore of horseshoe lake in fremont today, volunteers tied them together as part of a unique environmental project. the 700 trees were donated by vendors after they didn't sell during the holidays. now, as the water level rises here, they will sit at the bottom of this lake, providing a habitat for young fish, particularly bass and bluegill. >> it's going to create an artificial reef for them, which will have algae growing on it as soon as it gets inundated with water. insects feed on the algae. small fish feed on the insects. >> reporter: this project is organized by the east bay regional park district.

fisheries manager peter alexander tells me the goal is to boost fish populations in this man-made lake. >> it will provide a nursery for young fish. >> reporter: a couple dozen volunteers did the heavy tree lifting this morning that included members of this boy scout troop from livermore. >> once you get out here and start tying the knots and bringing the christmas trees around, getting them on this chains and you come back and see it all and you look at it and say, wow, we did that! >> reporter: an annual post holiday tradition. park rangers have been collecting unused christmas trees and putting them into this lake for about the last 20 years. >> i thought it was very interesting. i thought, wow, that's kind of neat that they can recycle and use this kind of stuff. >> reporter: and these trees have a limited life span underwater. this is what they look like after about seven or eight years in the lake. the branches have dissentigrated, making them less effective. that's why new ones are being put in today. underwater, the branches give baby fish a place to hide from predators and a chance t grow. meaning what you catch here will be that much bigger.

sunken christmas trees, bringing joy to local fishermen. in fremont, alex savage, ktvu channel 2news. eler is reit toe high school students are trying to raise money with a marathon fund-raiser going on right now. the school band has been holding a 12-hour play-a-thon to raise money for new instruments. the school music program has been struggling due to budget cuts. the students hope to raise $75,000 in the next two years. the play-a-thon tonight ends at 7:00. a gray sky and chilly temperatures couldn't keep swimmers away from the annual alcatraz winter swim. [ applause ] >> all right! >> whew! >> one tiny swimsuit. a few dozen took the plunge this morning, swimming from the rock to san francisco's aquatic park. most didn't wear wet suits, even though the water was about 49 degrees. the swimmers say they have to be mentally tough as well and not think about just how cold they are. that guy's cheating. he has a wet suit. >> have you ever taken that plunge?

>> i've done a polar plunge. yeah, not for long, though. >> it can be a shock to the system, for sure. >> you go crazy. it's cold out there, mark! >> it is. >> it is cold and wet. the rainfall has been picking up over the past few hours, as advertised. get ready for a wet night across the bay area. rainfall rates increasing, also some gusty winds out there. right now on the maps, on live storm tracker, you can pick out the current rainfall pattern. you can see it covering a good portion of the bay area. coming in a bit tighter up in the north bay, darker shades of green and yellows, indicating heavier downpours outside of santa rosa, to the east of santa rosa, st. helena. we'll move the maps around, shift closer to san francisco. san francisco is wet right now out toward the bay bridge, out toward oakland. southern marin county for sausalito, mill valley, you can pick out oakland and richmond. steady rain pushing into the region. also, expanding out to the east as well, notice more activity around concord, san ramon,

toward livermore, heavier cells to the east of livermore, around 580, approaching the altamonte pass. and we'll shift the maps to the south. san jose at last check reporting mostly cloudy skies, heavier downpours right now, beginning to march onshore closer to santa cruz, santa cruz mountains, and also morgan hill and gilroy. we do have downpours to report in this region as well. at least some light to moderate rain showers. so hold on to the umbrella at least in the short-term over the next four to eight hours. for tonight, more rain. tomorrow, showers, the bulk of the action taking place in the morning. then the extended, mild and then temperatures really cool off by wednesday and thursday. we could be tracking a chance of a few showers on the long range weather maps. as far as overnight lows, they will be in the upper 30s to 40s. that extreme chill no longer in our forecast, but still cool out there, at least with the overnight lows. current system moving onshore approaching the bay area, so for tonight rainfall continues to pick up in the short-term. there is the possibility of a

few thunderstorms as that cold, unstable air remains out here in the pacific. into tomorrow, this system does head to the south, down towards central and southern california, close enough we could have a few lingering showers, as i mentioned. still, lots of cloud cover out there. here's our forecast model, showing you still rain showers. 10:00 this evening, putting this into motion into overnight for 5:00, still a few lingering rain showers. we'll hold on to the chance mainly for tomorrow morning. decreasing clouds throughout the afternoon hours. as far as temperatures for tomorrow, a little bit warmer than today, but not too warm. still want to bundle up with the sweater or jacket out there. low to mid-50s for san jose and san mateo. looking ahead at the five-day forecast, with the weekend always in view, tonight, tomorrow morning, plan on wet, the possibility of a thunderstorm and then temperatures warm up nicely for monday and tuesday, but then the other extreme, wednesday and thursday, the chance of a shower by wednesday and a major drop-off in temperatures by thursday. >> seems like a while since we've seen 60. >> that's right. it's going to feel strange by monday and tuesday with those

readings of 60 to 62 degrees. >> thank you, mark. >> sure. coming up, a viral youtube video featuring a bay area girl. why this song for a good cause was temporarily pulled from the website. [ laughter ] [ girl ] wow, you guys have it easy.

i wish i had u-verse when i was your age. in my day, we didn't have these fancy wireless receivers. blah blah blah. if i had a sleepover, i couldn't just move the tv into the playroom. no. we had to watch movies in the den because that's where the tv outlet was. and if dad was snoring on the couch, we muscled through it. is she for real? your generation has it made. [ male announcer ] the wireless receiver only from at&t u-verse.

get u-verse tv for $29 a month for six months. rethink possible.

. a music video featuring a bay area girl is back online today. reagan smith and her family are donating proceeds from the song, "i want to know" to the children's hospital where she was treated for a rare blood disorder. let's check in with joe fonzi and cardinal basketball. >> stanford's first two games of the pac-12 basketball season have resulted in a southern california sweep. the after a loss to usc on thursday night, dwight powell always in the middle of it for the cardinal today, nice spin move to the hoop for 2 of his 17 points. but this game was about the bruins mohammed. mohammed running a circle route, getting rewarded with the pass for 2 of his 23 points. ucla led by 8 at the half and won by the same margin.

three for mohammed. seven straight wins for ucla, which makes it a weekend sweep of the northern california schools, winning this one 68-60. matthew and st. mary's opening the wcc schedule at home today against loyola mary mount. st. mary's led by 3 at the half. they stretched it out in the second half. the assist to mitchell young. then red shirred freshman jordan justy with three, a local product from san ramon high school. they win 74-61, 12-3 overall. the nfl wild card weekend, under way today. a little wrinkle thrown in when it was learned vikings quarterback christian ponder would not be able to play because of an elbow injury. he's been replaced by joe webb, who had not thrown a single pass during the regular season. that game is at half time, with green bay leading 17-3. earlier today, in the afc game, former houston oiler earl campbell was the honorary captain as the texans hosted the

cincinnati bengals. houston had the ball in a 6-0 lead in the second quarter, when matt schaub was picked off by leon hall. hall takes it back 21 yards for the score. bengals in front 7-6. the texans got only one touchdown. arian foster dives one yard for a 16-7 lead. foster rushed for 140 yards on the day. the bengals within 6 late in the third, but had a drive come to an end when dalton was picked off by joseph. that led to a field goal that put the texans in front by nine. not pretty, but houston wins 19-13. the texans will move on to round 2 of the playoffs at new england. the warriors tonight playing their second straight game against the division-leading los angeles clippers, trying to make it two wins in a row. we'll have that for you at 10:00, along with all the rest of the day's sports on sports wrap. see you then. >> thanks, joe. >> sure. thank you for trusting ktvu channel 2news. we'll see you the next time news breaks. >> and we're always available on ktvu.com. have a good night.